TrueFire Live: Guitar Lessons + Q&As

Lindsay Ell's rare combination of skills as a master guitarist, profound singer-songwriter, dynamic performer, and passionate educator power this fast-track, hands-on How to Solo Handbook. Leveraging years of experience and a deep passion for music education, Lindsay distills her unique teaching methods and TrueFire’s learning technologies to provide guitar students with an accelerated, immersive learning experience.

“Okay, so you play guitar already and are now anxious to learn how to solo—awesome! I love soloing so much that it’s something I work on every day of my life. I’m excited to share with you the magical building blocks I use in my solos. The great news is that it’s so easy to get started.

I’ve organized this handbook into three sections. We’ll start by understanding chord progression structures using “chord boxes” to lay out a road map of notes on the neck in any key.

Then, we’ll practice the five pentatonic scale patterns and look at how they fit together over the chord boxes – giving us notes that are easy to find and sound great anywhere you play them in a progression.

And as the cherry on top, we'll introduce major scale notes to add color to your solos. I'll reveal my hacks for identifying the key of any song, and we'll explore ways to infuse your soloing with that soulful, expressive touch.

The best part? You and I are in this together. We'll jam through it all, practicing what we learn over song progressions I've crafted for this course, spanning various styles and keys. I’ve also included a practice journal with diagrams and tools to help guide your soloing learning journey.”

The How to Solo Handbook will accelerate your journey in guitar soloing, using techniques developed by Lindsay herself. Here, every lesson embodies her commitment to nurturing and expanding your musical abilities. Join Lindsay Ell and tap into a wealth of knowledge, skill, and passion as you embark on a transformative guitar-playing adventure.

You’ll have TrueFire’s interactive learning tools at your fingertips to customize your workspace and learn at your own pace.

The demonstrations and performances are tabbed, notated, and synced to the video lessons with controls for looping, slow motion, fretboard animation, and other tools designed to accelerate your progress.

You’ll also get the tab and standard notation files to print out, downloadable Guitar Pro files, and backing tracks to practice and record with.

Grab your guitar, and let’s dig in with Lindsay Ell!

Q&A featuring Maton Guitars! This session includes TrueFire's own Joe Robinson talking about his signature Maton model; Maton's Head of Product Development and R&D, Patrick Evans; and Maton's General Manager, David Steedman. To learn more and watch the video from this live session, please visit truefire.com/live.

Joe Robinson:

Joe Robinson, at 29 years of age, has earned a reputation as one of the worlds great guitar players and a brilliant singer/songwriter.

Born and raised in the Australian bush, Joe has lived in Nashville, Tennessee for the last decade and has performed or recorded with a long list of celebrated music icons including Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, Kenny Rogers, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, Robben Ford, Keb Mo, Les Paul, The Wailers, Styx, John Jorgenson, Lee Roy Parnell, and friend and mentor, Tommy Emmanuel, CGP.

Joe won the second season of Australias Got Talent, aged 16, and has since developed a worldwide touring career, performing over 2,000 concerts across the U.S., Canada, Europe, Japan, China and his native Australia.

Considered one of the preeminent fingerstyle guitarists in the world today, performing complex arrangements that feature the bass line, chords, and melody all played simultaneously. Joe carries forward the legacy of legendary guitarists Chet Atkins, Merle Travis, Lenny Breau, and Tommy Emmanuel.

Joe has released four solo albums to great acclaim and his latest release Undertones (2019) is a celebrated 12-song collection. Premier Guitar magazine observes Undertones proves he is far more than a flashy prodigy - Robinson has developed into an artist with a fully formed vision of who he is and where he wants to go. In an album review, Acoustic Guitar magazine noted the virtuosos latest is dense with brilliant moments, Robinson's guitar playing is what really does the talking.

Joe was voted Best New Talent in the Guitar Player Readers Poll and his talents were further recognized by Guitar Player magazine as part of a cover story entitled Youth-quake 2017: Ten Mind-Blowing Young Guitarists. In the article, Guitar Player observes Robinson is equally mind-blowing as an acoustic fingerpicker and electric soloist - his YouTube videos display an astounding combination of taste, speed, cagey phrasing, and a clear, articulate, and sparking tone.

In addition to Joes TrueFire courses, and Guitar Synergy channel - his educational platform, Joes12.com is a 12-week course that covers topics including practicing, songwriting, arranging, performing, touring, your why mission and features guest mentors including Tommy Emmanuel, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, Robben Ford, John Jorgenson, Rodney Crowell, Fred Gretsch and author/neuroscientist Daniel Levitin.

Matt Schofield, Josh Smith, and Jeff McErlain talk about their Two-Rock Amplifiers, give tone tips, and perform. For more TrueFire Live sessions, check out https://truefire.com/live

About Matt:

Though he holds a British passport and is an inductee of the British Blues Hall of Fame, Matt Schofield has been making his mark globally as one of the top players in the new class of six string wunderkinds.

The Los Angeles Daily News wrote, In Schofield, the UK has produced the best Blues guitarist from any country in decades head and shoulders above the herd, while Guitar & Bass Magazine rated him in the top ten British blues guitarists of all time ranking him with icons Eric Clapton and Peter Green.

Born in the industrial city of Manchester and raised amongst the rolling hills and locked in time Cotswolds, Schofield began playing guitar at the age of 12.

My dad relocated to America, but before he left he gave me a BB King video. I watched it before school every day; it was three or four tracks from a concert. Later, when I was in California with my father, he showed me BB King with Albert Collins and Stevie Ray Vaughan on video.

It was like; Ive got to do this. Theres something about the way the three of them were jamming. B.B. really was majestic. As an 11-or 12-year-old watching him, I was mesmerized but didnt think there was any way I could ever do that. It was too special. But when I saw Stevie Ray Vaughan playing with him, I thought maybe I could. Stevie made it seem accessible to people. I taught myself, working my way through my Dads great blues record collection. I did my first gig age 13, and Ive been doing it ever since.

At age 18 he left the countryside and moved to London. There, as a sideman, he was able to hone his skills as backing a great variety of experienced and well known artists of the British Blues scene, visiting American artists, as well start touring internationally. The introspective, well read (lover of science, history and philosophy) and passionate Schofield said, this enabled me to stay close to my roots while learning my trade and exploring a variety of musical frontiers.

By age 25 I was starting to explore my own band projects. Although my formative guitar influences are the largely the old school blues players, I never wanted my own music to be constrained by a rigid formula, or even genre. I just want to play Matt Schofield music. Classic Jazz, funk, soul and rock and all the music I love have all found their way into it. The process of writing and singing has become increasingly important to me, and I feel its those other aspects of creativity that helped define my own voice on the guitar. Its always been important to find a context for the guitar to be part of, so that its not just guitar solos for their own sake.

I remain a music lover first and foremost. The recognition Ive received from both fans and peers is humbling and inspiring, and those pinch me moments where I found myself trading licks with heroes like Robben Ford and Buddy Guy are still the biggest thrill.

Now after five studio albums and a solid 10 years of touring with my own band, I have definite broader concepts I want to explore. Remaining open to where the music might take me while maintaining the excitement that improvising and collaborating with talented musicians allow, is key to me. My inspiration and goals came from many places: My influences old and new, including musicians I have wanted to collaborate with for years. Things I still feel I hadn't fully realized on previous studio records, and a need to keep pushing myself. It all meets at the place where Im heading now. Im always aiming to go as far as possible to capturing the same connection with the listener that I aim to make at a live show or on record. Thats the goal. Capturing that special moment."

About Josh:

Josh Smith was born October 7, 1979 in Middletown, Connecticut. Before he was 1, his family relocated to Florida, eventually settling in Pembroke Pines, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale. At age 3, he received his first guitar and at 6, he started taking guitar lessons.

Josh was exposed to the blues at an early age. He listened to a variety of artists, such as Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Albert King and T-Bone Walker. He also started going to concerts, including the Allman Brothers, Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen.

By 12, Josh was playing at established professional blues jams in South Florida, such as Musicians Exchange Café in Fort Lauderdale and Club M in Hollywood, FL.

When Josh was 13, the Rhino Cats, house band at Club M, asked him to be the lead guitarist. Musicians Exchange owner Don Cohen was so taken aback by the talent of this young musician that he offered to help manage and develop Josh’s career.

The Café was renowned for bringing in the best national touring blues bands, and Josh was quick to learn how to approach these blues greats, many of whom would invite Josh to sit in with them, thinking it may be a “novelty” to have a 14-year-old kid playing the blues. The novelty quickly wore off and was replaced by musicians stopping, watching and listening as this “kid” wailed out blues licks better than many of the touring guitarists on the circuit. Josh began sitting in with such greats as Jimmy Thackery, Tinsley Ellis, Kenny Neal, Lucky Peterson, Matt “Guitar” Murphy, Johnny “Clyde” Copeland, Double Trouble, Joanna Connor and Kim Simmonds, among others. Jimmy Thackery said of the 14-year-old, “Josh is three heartbreaks away from being a true blues guitar genius.” At 14, Josh released his first CD, Born Under a Blue Sign , and at 15, he released his second CD, Woodsheddin.

While performing all over South Florida, Josh Smith and the Rhino Cats quickly became one of the most in-demand blues bands in the area. In 1994, while Josh was only 15, they received the Florida Jammy Award for best blues band and were selected as XS Readers Choice Winners in 1995 for best blues band. In 1996, then a senior in high school, Josh was put on the cover of the national magazine High School Senior , which hailed him as an “Up and Coming Guitar Legend.” That same year, Washburn Guitars Int’l recognized Josh’s talent and offered him an endorsement. They flew Josh to Chicago and guitar luthier Grover Jackson built him a custom guitar.

Although Josh was an honor student, after graduation from high school in June 1997, Josh followed his heart and began pursuing what he was best at. His first national tour ensued with his newly formed power trio, Josh Smith and the Frost. Josh was now the band leader and vocalist, so he not only had to continue developing his guitar chops, but had to concentrate on his vocal prowess. In September 1997, Josh enlisted world-renowned producer Jim Gaines, whose credits include Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Luther Allison, Steve Miller and Jimmy Thackery, to produce his third CD, Too Damn Cold.

By 1998, Josh had completed four national tours with his band. In January 1998, Billboard Magazine took note of the rising young talent in a Continental Drift article. In February 1998, Josh was asked to support B.B. King on a number of theatre dates. In March 1998, the TV show Chicago Hope purchased the rights to the tune “32 degrees” from Too Damn Cold . An international CD release, The Mentos Freshmaker Tour , included the title cut, “Too Damn Cold,” in the spring of 1998.

Josh toured nationally all of 1999 and in October of that year, he entered the recording studio again with Jim Gaines and produced Woman , his fourth CD. This CD was released and well received in the spring of 2000. Josh continued to tour the East Coast from New York to Florida through 2001 with his band. In June 2002, he married and he and his wife decided to move to Los Angeles. Josh was ready for something new and wanted to be around a variety of musicians. He also began being a sideman.

Within a year of moving to L.A., he was retained by Virgin recording artist Ricky Fante. He played nationally and internationally with Ricky for the next two years.

In May 2006, Josh recorded his fifth CD, Deep Roots . A more traditional blues CD, his music was once again well received by Blueswax and Blues Revue magazine. Josh continued to play with a variety of artists, such as actress Taryn Manning, Universal hip-hop artist Benny Cassette and Tara Ellis, to name a few. In January 2007, Josh was hired by 2006 American Idol winner Taylor Hicks to be his lead guitarist. They completed two national tours from February-September 2007 with monthly dates and charity events until June 2008 when Taylor started Grease! on Broadway. In July 2008, Josh was hired by Raphael Saadiq. Since that time, Josh has played such high profile gigs with Raphael as backing Mick Jagger at the Grammy Awards in 2011 and the Kennedy Center Honors in December 2011. Josh continues to tour nationally and internationally with Raphael.

Josh released his 6th studio CD, “Inception,” in 2009. This is an all-instrumental CD with a variety of genres that was once again well received by the public and critics alike.

In 2010, Josh was signed to Crosscut Records, a label based out of Germany. Crosscut re-released Josh’s CD, “Deep Roots,” as “I’m Gonna Be Ready.” In October 2012, Josh’s CD, “Don’t Give Up On Me,” was released in Germany.

Josh continues to live in the Los Angeles area with his wife and two children.

About Jeff:

Jeff McErlain is one of the rare musicians who can teach as well as he plays. This is borne out by Jeff being one of the most in demand guitar instructors as well as performing and recording with Robben Ford.

Jeffs unique curriculum and method of teaching is perfect for the player who has been working at the guitar for a while but wants to go to the next level. Jeff has a straight forward and easy rapport with his students, he breaks things down so they can be easily understood, applied, and most importantly, made fun.

Music is a language and learning it can be approached in much

TrueFire presents an online music festival featuring 14 of its top educators:

Shane Theriot, Johnny Hiland, Vinny Raniolo, Matt Schofield, Brooks Robertson, Kid Andersen, Robben Ford, Tommy Emmanuel, David Henriksson, Stephen Mougin, Steve Jenkins, Joe Robinson, Andy McKee, and Andy Timmons.

Check out https://truefire.com/live for more TrueFire Live sessions!

Dave and Joel Hosler from Seven C Music talk about the role that guitar techs play, and how what technical skills you can learn to maintain your guitars! To learn more and watch the video from this live session, please visit truefire.com/live.

For more about Seven C Music, please visit https://www.sevencmusic.com/

Corey Congilio talks with Universal Audio's own James Santiago and Tore Mogensen about Universal Audio's recording interfaces and software. To learn more and watch the video from this live session, please visit truefire.com/live.

About Corey Congilio:

Since picking up the guitar at age thirteen, Corey Congilio has been steadily forming a solid musical foundation built upon honesty, integrity and respect for his art form. Born and raised in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, Corey was exposed to music from his father, mother and guitar playing uncles. This exposure to music of all types at an early age, helped to lay a foundation of passion, versatility and appreciation of what music is, where it comes from, and what it should be.

Realizing at an early age that music and the guitar would be his life’s focus, Corey moved to Pittsburgh, PA to attend the Art Institute Of Pittsburgh. There, Corey studied audio engineering but, didn’t get into music production officially until a few years after graduation. In the late 1990’s Pittsburgh had a vibrant music scene rich with blues, R&B, and original Rock. Corey shot up through the ranks by hanging out with the city’s best players who helped in honing his skills and overall musical maturity.

In 2005, Corey produced his first EP for a local country artist and his love of the studio began to blossom. Corey became an in demand session player in Pittsburgh and began to produce projects for singer-songwriters. His projects ran the gamut of styles that showed off his ability on instruments other than the guitar.

Over a 10-year period as an instructor, Corey has taught hundreds of students ranging in age, from six to eighty years old. A decade’s worth of guitar instruction helped to connect Corey to the world’s leader in online guitar instruction, TrueFire. Corey released his first official TrueFire course entitled, 50 Texas Blues Licks You Must Know, in 2011 and his fate as a worldwide guitar instructor was sealed. Since the launch of 50 Texas Blues, Corey continues to release top selling courses of all ability ranges through TrueFire.

His passion for teaching and presenting lends itself to the world of musical instrument demonstration as well. Since 2014, Corey has been an artist clinician for the most iconic acoustic guitar maker in the world, C.F.Martin Guitar & Co.

Corey moved to Nashville in 2013 and has quickly become a part of the town’s rich music community. Since moving to Nashville, he continues to broaden his musical horizons by performing with artists of all genres and participating in multiple recording sessions for songwriters and television.

Corey’s latest EP “Well Suited” was released in 2016 and he is currently writing and recording more music for a future project.

PRS Guitarist Bryan Ewald discusses all things PRS, including the SE T60E Acoustic Guitar. Check out https://truefire.com/live for more TrueFire Live sessions.

Ariane Cap & Andrew Ford talk about their guitar lessons available on TrueFire, perform, and answer questions. To learn more and watch the video from this live session, please visit truefire.com/live.

About Ariane:

Born and raised in Innsbruck, Austria, Ariane has been musically active since the age of five, playing classical piano and the recorder. She entered the Conservatory of the Land Tirol at age 6, where she studied the piano and the flute until the age of 18. She started playing in local rock, pop and dance bands and picked up the electric bass and soon added the upright. She entered the Academy of Music Vienna in 1996 studying jazz bass and bass education. In 1998, she received a scholarship from the Academy of Music of Vienna in Austria to the University of Miami, where she spent a year in the graduate program on Austrian and US scholarships. She then received a teaching assistantship at the University of South Florida in Tampa, where she received her Graduate Certificate of Music.

Ariane has studied with greats such as Victor Wooten, Steve Bailey, Chuck Rainey, Gerald Veasley, Kai Eckhardt, Kenny Werner, and others.

Ariane has played in countless bands and projects in Europe and the US, enjoying eclectic styles. She particularly loved playing with bands such as the Mozartband (a fusion of funk, rock and Mozart featuring members of the Viennese Philharmonic), and the Celtic rock band Tempest, who she toured with for three years. Ariane recorded and toured with "kindie-rock" sensation The Sippy Cups, a psychedelic rock circus appealing to kids and their parents alike with jugglers, aerialists, and a rocking show, as well as The Palmwine Boys, who fuse acoustic African Palmwine Music with Americana. Ariane was part of the creation of Cirque du Soleil's adaptation of The Tempest, Amaluna, in Montreal.

She is an experienced sideman as well, most recently supporting guitar virtuoso Muriel Anderson and the German flamenco stars Tierra Negra on fretted and fretless basses, or Cabo Jazz pianist Diego Rodriguez and vocalist extraordinaire Daline Jones. She recently recorded with multi Grammy award winning producer Keith Olsen. Current bands include Lara Price's Girls Got the Blues, an all-star female cast of Bay Area musicians including Janice Maxie-Reid, Pam Hawkins and Annie Sampson, as well as the platinum winning band Generation Esmeralda with Jimmy Goings. She plays 80's Rock and adaptations of game music with the band Raj and the Zenmasters.

Ariane also performs a solo set featuring a genre bending selection (from Bach via Jazz to African World Music) of originals and covers performed on her effects and looping setup. Her latest project is a duo with Bassoonist Paul Hanson, the OoN Band (Out of Nowhere).

The founder of "Step Up Music Vallejo," she is also an educator. She co-conducts bass seminars and rock camps all over the US, teaching along side Steve Bailey, Leo Nocentelli, DJ Logic, Dave LaRue, Carl Verheyen, Walfredo Reyes, and others. She regularly teaches at the Berkeley Jazz School and Workshop, in high demand for her "Pattern system" approach and her creative way of integrating music theory and ear training naturally. In 2014, she was selected by the prestigious Ucross Foundation to participate in an artist in residence program in Ucross, Wyoming. She used this time to write, compose and practice 11 hours a day and more.

As a freelancing composer and sound designer, Ariane has turned out music and sound for hand held and online games for Wolf Track Audio, Karney Music, and Sound and Somatone.

About Andrew:

Andrew Ford is a bass player, composer, arranger, producer and educator. He has performed with legendary artists in almost every major genre of music, while also having a Masters degree in Education. He has recorded, toured, or performed with Al Jarreau, Whitney Houston, David Crosby, Robben Ford, Chaka Khan, George Duke, Gladys Knight, James Ingram, Israel Houghton, Dianne Reeves, Peabo Bryson, Patti Austin, Lynne Fiddmont, Christopher Cross, Jerry Butler, Michael McDonald, David Pack, The Emotions, Melissa Manchester, Brenda Russell, Phil Perry, The Stylistics, Larry Carlton, Oleta Adams, Jeffrey Osborne, Jeff Lorber, Deniece Williams, Randy Crawford, Norman Brown, Graham Nash, Boney James, Paul Brown, Kirk Whalum, Michael Paulo and many others.

Andrew has taught bass at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood(BIT), Citrus Community College, the Los Angeles Music Academy, and the University of La Verne. He has also taught Music Business at the college level. He has written or co-written many songs, including "Flame" which is on the 2013 Grammy Nominated Al Jarreau project. Andrew has also had success writing for tv, with a number of songs in regular rotation.

Rob Garland & Andy Aledort talk about their guitar lessons available on TrueFire, perform, and answer questions. To learn more and watch the video from this live session, please visit truefire.com/live.

About Rob:

Growing up in England I worked in a diverse array of bands and performed on the London college circuit. Later I played hundreds of gigs at numerous festivals (The Big Muddy Blues Festival, Blues In The District, Washington Blues, etc). and at clubs around the U.S. with my group, Rob Garland & The Blue Monks, opening for artists such as B.B. King, Chuck Berry and Booker T. The band attained airplay on international radio and T.V. stations.

I graduated from Christ Church College in the U.K. with a Bachelors degree in Music/Radio Film & Television. After moving to the U.S. I studied with jazz great Jimmy Bruno.

Since being featured in guitar magazines, (Guitarist, Guitar One, Premier Guitar, etc), my first instructional book was published by Cherry Lane in 2007 which led to a wonderful relationship with TrueFire where currently I run an artist channel (Babylon), write articles for RIFF Journal, host live YouTube sessions and create instructional courses, such as the best selling Chord Navigator: CAGED series. You can check out my courses and watch video introductions on the Guitar Lessons & TrueFire Courses page of my website.

I've been a guitar teacher for over 25 years and am very proud to be part of the faculty at Musicians Institute, in Hollywood, CA. I also teach private lessons from my home in L.A. via Zoom/Skype.

Currently I play gigs with jazz/funk band Catatonic and my fusion power trio Rob Garland's Eclectic Trio at venues such as The Baked Potato, Vitello's, Alva's Showroom and The Mint. I've performed sessions at Los Angeles studios such as Revolver and The Village Recorder and co-written music for Bad Robot.

I love writing, recording and releasing my original music ranging in genre from jazz/rock instrumental to acoustic vocal folk, which can be streamed on Spotify or downloaded on iTunes as well as numerous other digital platforms. Check out the Music page on my website for more information and links.

In September 2018 I was honoured to perform and jam with legendary guitarist Steve Vai at the 'Big Mama-Jama Jamathon' in Hollywood, CA.

Some of the amazing musicians I've worked with include Jimmy Haslip (The Yellowjackets), Andy Sanesi (Scott Henderson), Tony Newton (Gary Moore), Mick Stevens (Brand X) and Gus Thornton (Albert King).

Endorsements include the wonderful folks at Bogner amplification, Xotic guitars, Curt Mangan strings, Chicken Picks and Moody Leather Straps.

I love all different genres of music and am influenced by everyone from Joni Mitchell to Frank Zappa, via Prince and Black Sabbath!

About Andy:

Only a handful of people on the planet can deliver the instructional goods on guitar as well as Andy Aledort. Andy has served as senior editor for several top guitar magazines, has authored over 200 guitar instruction books, and has studied the styles and techniques of virtually every major electric blues and rock guitar artist in history. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone better qualified to present a more thorough guitar lesson curriculum than Andy Aledort.

Over the last 10 years, Andy Aledort has sold over one million instructional DVDs, and continues to produce new DVD products for Guitar World and TrueFire. There are many additional Aledort products on the market available from other companies such as Hal Leonard and Alfred Music PubAledort has also been featured nationally on Comcast Music On Demand every day, seven days a week. All of the many different products he’s created for GW are featured, including excerpts from his Axis: Bold as Love and Electric Ladyland instructional DVDs.

Aledort has been touring for the last eight years with Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers and plays slide guitar in the band. Additionally, he appears on the new “Dickey Betts & Great Southern: 30 Years Of Southern Rock” 2 Disc DVD and the double live CD, “The Official Bootleg”.Aledort regularly participates in the Jimi Hendrix Tribute Tours of the last nine years and is featured on the live Experience Hendrix DVD available from jimihendrix.com appearing with Paul Rodgers, Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin, Mick Taylor, Mitch Mitchell, Billy Cox, Robert Randolph and others. He’s also performed and recorded many times with Double Trouble, Stevie Ray Vaughan’s rhythm section of Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton. They appear with Aledort on a cut from his upcoming studio album.

Andy Aledort performs regularly in the tri-state area with his band, the Groove Kings, and are looking to expand their touring parameters. They released an acclaimed studio album, Put A Sock In It, a few years ago, and released a equally highly-regarded live album, Live at North Star, in 2009.

PRS Guitarist Bryan Ewald discusses all things PRS, including the S2 Singlecut 594 Electric Guitar. Check out https://truefire.com/live for more TrueFire Live sessions.

TrueFire presents an online music festival featuring 14 of its top educators:

Kelly Richey, Kirk Fletcher, Doug Munro, Eric Lambert, Rusty Cooley, Carl Burnett, Peter Mulvey, David Becker, Andrea Quartarone, Robert Renman, Andy Aledort, Scott Sharrard, Ellis Paul, and Sean McGowan.

Check out https://truefire.com/live for more TrueFire Live sessions!

Sheryl Bailey & Jon Herington talk about their guitar lessons available on TrueFire, perform, and answer questions. To learn more and watch the video from this live session, please visit truefire.com/live.

About Sheryl:

The Downbeat Critics Poll voted Sheryl a Rising Star (2013-2016) and One of the new greats of her chosen instrument Phillip Booth, Downbeat Magazine

As a leader, she has toured the US, Canada, Finland, Austria, Italy, Australia, Hong Kong, China, Japan, and the UK with her many projects: The Sheryl Bailey 3, The Sheryl Bailey 4, The Electric Ladyland Project, Acoustic Muse, and Plucky Strum. She has 10 critically acclaimed releases as a leader. Her latest is Plucky Strum with bass master Harvie S via Whaling City Sound.

She has toured and recorded with Richard Bona, Anat Cohen, David Krakauers Ancestral Groove, Abraham Inc., John Zorn, Irene Cara, Lea Delaria, George Garzone, Jack Wilkins, Shingo Okudaira, Steve Slagle, Harvie S, Ken Peplowski, Kim Plainfield, and Gary Thomas.

As an educator, she has been Professor of Guitar at Berklee College of Music since 2000, is faculty at The Collective School of Music in NYC, and has hosted master classes and workshops worldwide. Her Mel Bay publication, Moveable Shapes, is a top seller in their Jazz Curriculum Series. Her latest adventure is her TrueFire Channel Bebop Dojo Bootcamp. Bebop Dojo Essentials course and 50 Bebop Licks Everyone Should Know are also top TrueFire titles from Bailey.

Sheryl plays her Signature McCurdy Mercury Model, Acoustic Image Amplifiers, Stone Bridge Acoustic Guitars and Earthquaker Devices.

About Jon:

Jon Herington is a longtime New York city based guitarist, singer/songwriter, producer, and bandleader. He is the leader of the Jon Herington Band and has been the guitarist of choice with the iconic band Steely Dan for both recording and touring since 1999. With the launch of Adult Entertainment, Jon now has five solo releases in his discography. His previous release, Time on My Hands, was nominated for Vintage Guitar Hall of Fame Album of the Year.

In recent years Jon expanded into education and is currently offering instruction via TrueFire, the world's most comprehensive library of guitar instruction. The TrueFire Ear IQ series currently has two offerings, “Reactive Improvisation: Develop Big Ears and Powerful Improvisation Skills” and “Soloing Strategies: Creative and Harmonic Approaches for Crafting Solos”. In 2015, Jon released “Arrangements for Guitar”, a collection of 18 songs arranged for solo guitar, presenting the unique “chord melody” style of solo jazz guitar that impressed him as a young player.

Jon's love for music surfaced early, and he studied piano, saxophone, and harmony in his grade school years. Just before his high school years, however, he developed a passion for pop music and the electric guitar, and soon was writing songs and performing with his own band near his New Jersey Shore home doing opening slots for local hero Bruce Springsteen, beginning a performing career that has continued ever since. College followed, with extensive musical studies in both classical and jazz composition and theory at Rutgers University, and private jazz guitar study, with the help of a National Endowment for the Arts grant, with the late, great jazz guitarist, Harry Leahey. Next came several years of study with the late Dennis Sandole, the acclaimed music teacher from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who once taught the late greats James Moody and John Coltrane.

Jon's gigging life took a detour for about three years when he moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, home to jazz guitar great Wes Montgomery. There Jon played jazz, with the many accomplished local players and former band-mates of Wes, including Wes's brother Buddy Montgomery, "Killer" Ray Appleton, "Pookie" Johnson, and organist and vocalist Terry Hayden, as well as the many talented young players who were students or residents in Indiana, including Jim Beard, Bob Hurst, Kenny Aronov, Chris Botti, and Shawn Pelton. Jon also began doing extensive session work at the time in several of the local studios and played on dozens of jingles and albums.

After a return to the New York area, Jon began the challenging process of establishing a working life in New York. His work included performing with many different bands and for many Broadway shows, session recording, teaching, and an occasional writing or arranging job.

Jon's debut release in 1992 titled The Complete Rhyming Dictionary (remastered and retitled as Pulse and Cadence) was an instrumental recording, showcasing eight of his own compositions as well as the brilliant playing of keyboardist Jim Beard, bassist Victor Bailey, drummer Peter Erskine, and percussionist Arto Tuncboyacian.

Since late 1999, Jon has been the guitarist of choice with Steely Dan for both recording and touring. Jon has also toured with Donald Fagen, Boz Scaggs, Bette Midler, the Jim Beard group, The Blue Nile, Phoebe Snow, Madeleine Peyroux, Bobby Caldwell, Catherine Russell, Rob Morsberger, saxophonist Bill Evans, the contemporary jazz superband Chroma, Lucy Kaplansky, jazz/blues organ great Jack McDuff, and The Dukes of September (a supergroup featuring Donald Fagen, Boz Scaggs, and Michael McDonald).

Some of Jon's recording highlights (aside from Adult Entertainment, Time On My Hands, shine (shine shine), Like So, and Pulse and Cadence) are the Walter Becker release Circus Money, the most recent Donald Fagen release Sunken Condos, as well as his prior release Morph the Cat, the Steely Dan albums Two Against Nature (Grammy Award Winner) and Everything Must Go, Jim Beard's five recordings (the first four co-produced by Jon), two Bill Evans records, Escape and Starfish and the Moon, Michael "Patches" Stewart's Penetration, Bob Berg's Riddles and Virtual Reality, Lucy Kaplansky's 10 Year Night, Michael Brecker's Now You See It...(Now You Don't), Randy Brecker's Toe to Toe, Victor Bailey's Bottoms Up, Chroma's Music on the Edge (with Mike Stern and others), Rob Morsberger's The End of Physics, Relativity [Blues], A Periodic Rush of Waves, The Chronicle of a Literal Man, Ghosts Before Breakfast, A Part of You, and the DVD Rob Morsberger Live, and Lynne Robyn's Red Bird in Snow, one of Jon's production efforts. Jon can also be seen on Steely Dan's live Two Against Nature DVD, the Making of Aja DVD from the “Classic Albums” series and the Dukes of September Live at Lincoln Center DVD. Jon's current work remains a combination of free-lancing as a guitarist and producer in New York, song-writing and band-leading work with his own group, and world-wide touring in support of some of the world's most renowned musical artists.

David Grissom, Corey Congilio, and Tony McManus talk about their guitar lessons available on TrueFire, perform, and answer questions. To learn more and watch the video from this live session, please visit truefire.com/live.

About David:

David Grissom has toured and recorded with artists such as John Mellencamp, Joe Ely, Storyville, The Allman Brothers Band, The Dixie Chicks, Chris Isaak, Robben Ford, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Ringo Starr, Buddy Guy, and John Mayall, . His songs have been recorded by Trisha Yearwood, Lee Ann Womack, John Mayall, Shannon Curfman and Storyville among others..
David joined Texas legend Joe Elys band in 1985 and toured and recorded nonstop until 1991 when he joined John Mellencamps band. David made 3 records with John and toured extensively from 1991 through 1993. After Mellencamp, David went back to Texas to form Storyville, the band that included the Double Trouble rhythm section and powerhouse vocalist Malford Milligan. David is currently doing sessions and excited to release his fifth solo CD Trio Live 2020 in May of 2020.

About Corey:

Since picking up the guitar at age thirteen, Corey Congilio has been steadily forming a solid musical foundation built upon honesty, integrity and respect for his art form. Born and raised in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, Corey was exposed to music from his father, mother and guitar playing uncles. This exposure to music of all types at an early age, helped to lay a foundation of passion, versatility and appreciation of what music is, where it comes from, and what it should be.

Realizing at an early age that music and the guitar would be his life’s focus, Corey moved to Pittsburgh, PA to attend the Art Institute Of Pittsburgh. There, Corey studied audio engineering but, didn’t get into music production officially until a few years after graduation. In the late 1990’s Pittsburgh had a vibrant music scene rich with blues, R&B, and original Rock. Corey shot up through the ranks by hanging out with the city’s best players who helped in honing his skills and overall musical maturity.

In 2005, Corey produced his first EP for a local country artist and his love of the studio began to blossom. Corey became an in demand session player in Pittsburgh and began to produce projects for singer-songwriters. His projects ran the gamut of styles that showed off his ability on instruments other than the guitar.

Over a 10-year period as an instructor, Corey has taught hundreds of students ranging in age, from six to eighty years old. A decade’s worth of guitar instruction helped to connect Corey to the world’s leader in online guitar instruction, TrueFire. Corey released his first official TrueFire course entitled, 50 Texas Blues Licks You Must Know, in 2011 and his fate as a worldwide guitar instructor was sealed. Since the launch of 50 Texas Blues, Corey continues to release top selling courses of all ability ranges through TrueFire.

His passion for teaching and presenting lends itself to the world of musical instrument demonstration as well. Since 2014, Corey has been an artist clinician for the most iconic acoustic guitar maker in the world, C.F.Martin Guitar & Co.

Corey moved to Nashville in 2013 and has quickly become a part of the town’s rich music community. Since moving to Nashville, he continues to broaden his musical horizons by performing with artists of all genres and participating in multiple recording sessions for songwriters and television.

Corey’s latest EP “Well Suited” was released in 2016 and he is currently writing and recording more music for a future project.

About Tony:

Tony McManus has come to be recognized throughout the world as the leading guitarist in Celtic Music. From early childhood his twin obsessions of traditional music and acoustic guitar have worked together to produce a startlingly original approach to this ancient art. In Tony’s hands the complex ornamentation normally associated with fiddles and pipes are accurately transferred to guitar in a way that preserves the integrity and emotional impact of the music. His ability to reach audiences unfamiliar with traditional music is remarkable- he is quite comfortable at predominantly classical events such as the Dundee and Derry Guitar Festivals (appearing six times between the two) the Uppsala Guitar Festival and even The Bogotá International Guitar Festival where he followed virtuoso Eduardo Fernandez.

PRS Guitarist Bryan Ewald discusses all things PRS, including the Sonzera 20 Watt Combo Amp. Check out https://truefire.com/live for more TrueFire Live sessions.

Andy Wood talks about his soloing guitar lessons available on TrueFire, performs, and answers questions. To learn more and watch the video from this live session, please visit truefire.com/live.

About Andy:

ANDY WOOD is recognized as part of the forefront of this generation’s top influential guitarists.

Currently touring as a solo guitarist and mandolinist along with working on a host of additional musical projects, Andy is also performing live with his own band promoting CAUGHT BETWEEN THE TRUTH AND A LIE, the double album which showcases his vast musical influences and abilities.

Andy has toured professionally with a wide range of acts, including most recently Gary Allan, LOCASH, Rascal Flatts, Scott Stapp, and Sebastian Bach. Looking for an outlet for styles other than hard rock, Andy also released his debut solo album A DISCONCERTING AMALGAM. This instrumental record covers a broad range of genres including fusion, rock, metal, and acoustic bluegrass. Andy Wood is known for blurring the lines of preconceived genres.

Andy spent most of his childhood playing and competing in bluegrass festivals. Touring the bluegrass circuit with his cousin and grandfather provided Andy with the necessary exposure that helped refine and sharpen his skills. Andy and his cousin held various state championship titles.

At the young age of sixteen, Andy finished second in the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MANDOLIN CONTEST in Winfield, Kansas. All of this was accomplished before Andy discovered the world of electric guitar at the age of eighteen.

Fast-forward a few years. Andy’s curiosity and appreciation for music drew him into the world of electric guitars. The new instrument was familiar due to his experience with acoustic instruments, but at the same time, allowed him to manipulate his sound in ways never before possible. He began studying the styles of Nashville session players such as Brent Mason and Albert Lee.

It was not long after Andy had immersed himself in new styles such as jazz, swing, fusion, and rock. Andy began to study other guitar greats such as The Dixie Dregs, Eric Johnson, Eddie Van Halen, Joe Satriani, and Steve Vai. The young guitarist began incorporating their influences into his own style.

At the age of 22, Andy was drawn back to competition in the form of GUITARMAGGEDON, a guitar contest sponsored by Guitar Center. Andy was a face in the crowd of 3,400 other contestants, but he made his presence known by being crowned champion of this prestigious tournament.

Not long after winning Guitarmaggedon, Andy became a founding member of the rock group DOWN FROM UP. They have toured with Seven Dust, Drowning Pool and 10 Years.

As Andy climbs to greater and greater heights, his technical proficiency and tasteful chops makes Mr. Wood a force to be reckoned with, and a name you will not forget. If you find yourself “Caught Between The Truth and a Lie,” you’ll need all the “Charisma” you can get your hands on!

Jason Loughlin talks about his guitar lessons available on TrueFire, perform, and answer questions. To learn more and watch the video from this live session, please visit truefire.com/live.

About Jason:

Jason Loughlin's creative guitar playing has supported artists such as Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Amos Lee, Sam Outlaw, Brandi Carlile, Rachael Yamagata, The Secret Sisters, Valerie June, Keb Mo, Jennifer Nettles, Brent Cobb, Shannon McNally, Jack Ingram, Marshall Crenshaw, Dale Watson, Jim Heath, Nellie McKay, Lesley Gore, The Sweetback Sisters, James Burton and Mike Viola. In 2011, Jason released his debut album Peach Crate which was met with critical acclaim.
"We hear an instrumentalist of great range, taste and joy."-Downbeat Magazine

Uncannily well-constructed launching pads for great picking. A great guitar album that could easily sit alongside those of his inspirations.-Vintage Guitar Magazine

Currently, Jason lives in Brooklyn, NY where he performs with his bands The String Gliders and Aquarium Solarium, teaches and produces records.

Reverend Robert Jones & Jeff McErlain talk about their blues guitar lessons available on TrueFire, perform, and answer questions. To learn more and watch the video from this live session, please visit truefire.com/live.

About Reverend Jones:

Rev. Robert Jones, Sr. is a native Detroiter and an inspirational storyteller and musician celebrating the history, humor, and power of American Roots music. His deep love for traditional African American and American traditional music is shared in live performances that interweave timeless stories with original and traditional songs.

For more than thirty years Robert has entertained and educated audiences of all ages in schools, colleges, libraries, union halls, prisons, churches, and civil rights organizations. At the heart of his message is the belief that our cultural diversity tells a story that should celebrate, not just tolerate.

Acclaimed photographer James Fraher writes about Robert: “Perhaps the world’s most highly educated blues musician, an ordained minister, a longtime DJ, and a living encyclopedia of blues history, the Reverend Robert Jones is comfortable among juke joint loud talkers, fancy-hatted church ladies, and PhDs alike."

About Jeff:

Jeff McErlain is one of the rare musicians who can teach as well as he plays. This is borne out by Jeff being one of the most in demand guitar instructors as well as performing and recording with Robben Ford.

Jeffs unique curriculum and method of teaching is perfect for the player who has been working at the guitar for a while but wants to go to the next level. Jeff has a straight forward and easy rapport with his students, he breaks things down so they can be easily understood, applied, and most importantly, made fun.

Music is a language and learning it can be approached in much the same way one would learn to speak a new language. Jeffs years of experience has helped him develop a three point teaching approach. It consists of Vocabulary, Repertoire, and Practical Fingerboard Knowledge. This three point method gives the student a clear path to learning and playing the blues and blues rock. This approach has also earned him a loyal base of students. Jeff is also one of TrueFires popular instructors with over 30 courses under his belt.

Jeffs latest CD NOW features Robben Ford on all tracks. Robben also produced the cd. Robben chose Jeff to launch his new label. Jeff subsequently toured as a member of Robbens band performing both of their music. He has performed with Jimmy Haslip, Toss Panos, Keith Carlock, Matt Schofield, David Grissom, and others.

Jeff has toured with many bands thought out the US, Europe, and Asia. Jeff recently performed at the Umbria Blues Festival with Josh Smith and Ariel Posen.

Jeff has been teaching with Robben Ford in his traveling Guitar Dojo for 5 years, the Crown Guitar Festival, Ruby Mountain Guitar Festival, The National Guitar Workshop and private clinics. Jeff was also the guitar instructor and musical consultant for the movie August Rush (you can also see him in the beginning of the movie as a young Robin Williams).
Jeff has written for Guiana World, Guitar Player, and Premier Guitar and studied Berklee College of Music.
A lover of gear Jeff endorses Two-Rock Amplifiers, Michael Tuttle Guitars, Collings Guitars, DAdarrio strings, Universal Audio, and ThroBak pickups.

Jeffs website is jeffmcerlain.com

Muriel Anderson, Cathy Fink, & Marcy Marxer talk about their guitar, banjo, and ukulele lessons available on TrueFire, perform, and answer questions. To learn more and watch the video from this live session, please visit truefire.com/live.

About Muriel:

Considered one of the USA's foremost guitarists and harp-guitarists, Muriel Anderson is also a gifted educator. She is the first woman to have won the National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship. She is host and originator of the "Muriel Anderson's ALL STAR GUITAR NIGHT" as well as founder of the Music for Life Alliance, to support music education in schools and grassroots programs nationwide. Her double CD "Nightlight Daylight" is the first to use fiber optics in the package, her original idea, and it has won a dozen national and international honors. Her Heartstrings recording accompanied the astronauts on a space shuttle mission, and her new release "Acoustic Chef" is both an international cookbook and a CD.

About Cathy:

Singer, songwriter, producer, engineer, banjo picker, guitar player and community activist, Cathy Fink lives an eclectic career in the music industry and beyond. She is not only well known as half of the GRAMMY winning duo, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, but for her volunteer efforts and activism within the music industry and on behalf of issues and organizations that care about children.

Cathy is one of the country's finest clawhammer banjo players. In 1980 she became the first woman to win the West Virginia State Old Time Banjo contest, an honor she earned 3 times. She has taught banjo, guitar, fiddle, vocal styles, harmony singing and songwriting at music camps such as Augusta, Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, Kaufman Kamp, California Coast Music Camp and Swannanoa since 1984.

About Marcy:

Two-time Grammy winner Marcy Marxer is the Queen of Swing. A master of several stringed instruments, Marcy is extraordinarily dialed into traditional roots music be it old-time country, folk, bluegrass and of course swing. Marxer has over 50 recordings to her credit and has been honored with 8 Signature Model Instruments from C.F. Martin & Co. (the MC3H Acoustic Guitar and MM5-17T tenor guitar), Gold Tone Instruments (CEB-4-MM model Cello Banjo), National Reso-Phonics (MM Triolean Tenor Guitar) and Kala, Talsma and Ken Miller Signature Model Ukuleles.

Marcy has been featured in Acoustic Guitar Magazine and their special editions of Ukulele Magazine and Flatpicking Guitar Magazine. She has also written articles for all of the above. Marcy also happens to be a very gifted instructor, which will serve you quite well in this introduction to swing guitar rhythm playing. If you know how to tune your guitar and already have a few chords under your belt, Marcy will get you up, running and swingin' in no time at all.

Brad Carlton talks about his guitar lessons available on TrueFire, perform, and answer questions. To learn more and watch the video from this live session, please visit truefire.com/live.

About Brad:

February 5th, 1970 -That was the day I began my lifelong career of guitar education. Since then, I've discovered my passion truly lies in inspiring my students to realize their musical dreams. I am a self-taught musician, and throughout my 50+ years of teaching I've been a student of how people learn. My role as a coach is to teach you how to know and hear the information in your head, see it on your instrument, and execute it with flawless technique.

I've instructed literally thousands of students ranging from absolute beginners to seasoned professionals, and I've created over 135 video courses which address various topics regarding playing the guitar. All of these are available at TrueFire. Rather than a one-size fits all approach to music education, I have found the more effective method, and one I truly enjoy, is through creating an element of spontaneity in a lesson, keeping both the student and the teacher excited about the idea of studying and discovering music through the instrument.

I have the reputation as the man who can play anything. I'm not stating this just to brag: Through being well-versed in many styles, I am equipped to teach students across a wide spectrum of musical genres and techniques.

As a professional musician, I've played literally every kind of gig you can imagine from funky bars to the classical concert stage, from session work to international European music festivals. Through these experiences and others, I can offer insight for the aspiring musician that extends far beyond the classroom.

If the idea of studying with me sounds appealing, lets talk about my teaching philosophy:

- You are your own teacher and I am your coach.
- You will be encouraged to sing the music that you want to play, because if you can sing it, you can play it.
- The foundational issues of rhythm will be preeminent in all that you do.
- You will learn how to utilize the guitar to its maximum potential in the areas of melody, harmony, and rhythm.

You might be thinking, This guy is not for the faint of heart! Let me assure you: My goal is always that you enjoy improving in your craft and in the art of making music. Whether you're a virtuoso or not, I truly believe that anyone can enjoy the pleasures of being able to express oneself through music.

Adam Levy, Mimi Fox, and Stu Hamm talk about their guitar and bass lessons available on TrueFire, perform, and answer questions. To learn more and watch the video from this live session, please visit truefire.com/live.

About Adam:

To call Adam Levy a "well-traveled musician" would be a hell of an understatement. During a six-year stint touring as a member of Norah Jones' Handsome Band, Levy went round the world several times and maxed out the pages of his passportand then a second onewith country stamps and visas. He first played with Jones at the very beginning of the singer's career and went on to be the featured electric guitarist on her wildly successful first three albums and DVDs. Levy held the enviable gig through 2007, ultimately leaving to follow his own path as a performing songwriter.

Levy released two CDs under his own name while in Jones' band, and has continued to release new recordings annually since thensome featuring his lyrical songs, some wholly instrumental. His best-known is 'The Heart Collector,' praised by No Depression online as "a great album overflowing with warm and soulful songs that enchant the ears and captivate the heart." Other recent CDs include 'Town & Country,' 'Blueberry Blonde,' and 'Live from Sun Studio'the latter tracked, of course, at the legendary Memphis mecca where Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley cut their first acetates.

Jones is not the only top-shelf artist whose music Levy has been party to. He can be heard on Tracy Chapman's New Beginning (that's Levy's laid-back blues solo on "Give Me One Reason"), Amos Lee's eponymous Blue Note debut (featured on the single, "Arms of a Woman"), Lisa Loeb's 'Lullaby Girl,' Vulfpeck's 'The Beautiful Game,' Allen Toussaint's 'American Tunes,' and Meshell Ndegeocello's 'Ventriloquism.'

Levy is also well-known as a writer and journalist, with articles appearing regularly in the pages of Fretboard Journal and Acoustic Guitar magazines. And he has earned a reputation as an esteemed educator. He is the author of Jazz Guitar Sight-Reading (book) and Play the Right Stuff (book & DVD), and has led many workshops and masterclasses all across the U.-and internationally.

About Mimi:

Internationally renowned guitarist, composer and recording artist Mimi Fox has been named a winner in 6 consecutive Downbeat Magazine international critic's polls and has been recognized by writers and colleagues alike as one of the most eloquent jazz guitarists on today's scene. In one of many feature stories, Guitar Player Magazine hailed Mimi as "a prodigious talent who has not only mastered the traditional forms but has managed to reinvigorate them."

Mimi has performed/recorded with some of jazz's most commanding players, including fellow guitarists Charlie Byrd, Stanley Jordan, Charlie Hunter, and Mundell Lowe, Grammy-nominated saxophonists Branford Marsalis, David Sanchez and Houston Person and the late Don Lanphere, vocalists Abbey Lincoln, Diana Krall, Kevin Mahogany and Janis Siegel (Manhattan Transfer), B3 organ masters Barbara Denerlein and Dr. Lonnie Smith, and powerhouse drummer Terri Lyne Carrington. She has also performed outside of the jazz world with legends Stevie Wonder and John Sebastian and with Patty Larkin's Vanguard Records-produced La Guitara project.

About Stu:

Stu Hamm attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he met guitarist Steve Vai and, through him, met Joe Satriani. Hamm played bass on Vai's debut solo album, Flex-Able, which was released in 1984. Hamm has performed and recorded with Steve Vai, Frank Gambale, Joe Satriani and many other well-respected guitarists. It was playing live on tour with Satriani that brought Hamm's skills to national attention. Subsequent recordings with Satriani and other rock/fusion artists along with the release of his own solo recordings solidified his reputation as a bassist and performer.